eab-nr-strenthensregulation-012005.stm

	NEWS RELEASE l Ohio Department of Agriculture

Governor Bob Taft Lieutenant Governor Bruce Johnson Director Fred L. Dailey		Communications Office 8995 East Main Street • Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068 Phone: 614-752-9817 • Fax 614-466-7754 ODA URL: www.ohioagriculture.gov • e-mail: agri@agri.ohio.gov

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio (July 19, 2005) – Ohio Department of Agriculture officials today announced the discovery of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), a destructive exotic insect from Asia, in an ash tree south of Delaware in Delaware County. Department surveyors have begun work to determine the extent of the infestation.

Department officials discovered an infested ash tree landscaped near the intersection of U.S. Route 23 and Stratford Road while responding to a concerned citizen’s call. At this time, officials are investigating the origin of the infestation, which is not part of the insect’s natural spread. It is likely the infestation started as a result of the transportation of firewood, ash tree nursery stock, ash logs, or other ash tree materials from a quarantined area.

State and federal quarantines have been established to help stop the artificial spread of Emerald Ash Borer. The department encourages citizens to aid in halting this ash tree-killing insect by refraining from moving firewood and ash tree materials.

In Delaware, all ash trees, visibly infested or not, within one-half mile of the infested tree will be marked for removal. Destroying ash trees within the insect’s natural spread is the only known way of eradicating EAB in an already infested area.

To date, EAB has been identified in Delaware, Defiance, Franklin, Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, and Wood counties. The pest was first discovered in Ohio in 2003. Since then, ODA has eradicated the pest from Franklin and Defiance county sitesH, which continue to be monitored.

Ash trees infested with EAB typically die within three to five years. The pest belongs to a group of insects known as metallic wood-boring beetles. Adults are dark metallic green in color, one-half inch in length and one-eighth inch wide, and fly only from early May until September. Larvae spend the rest of the year beneath the bark of ash trees, and when they emerge as adults, leave D-shaped exit holes in the bark about one-eighth inch wide.

For more information on Emerald Ash Borer or for a map of the latest infestation, go to www.ohioagriculture.gov/eab, or call 1-888-OHIO-EAB.

NEWS RELEASE l Ohio Department of Agriculture

Communications Office